Monday, January 21, 2013

More people head to natural hot springs to soak their bodies
and rejuvenate themselves when the cold winter weather kicks in. But
while they are known to be effective in treating neuralgia, skin
diseases, digestive ailments, arthritis, and rheumatism thanks to the
various minerals in the water, they can be harmful to patients suffering
from cardiovascular diseases, kidney dysfunctions, diabetes, or severe
hypertension.

The act of soaking the whole body in the water,
except for the head, is equivalent to being subjected to 700 kg of high
water pressure. This can pose a health risk to patients with
cardiovascular diseases or hypertension as it raises the blood pressure
and causes an accelerated heartbeat. As such, people with these ailments
should only submerge the lower part of their body.

Although hot springs are known to be good for treating
dermatological diseases, those with dry skin can find their problems
exacerbated if they soak for a prolonged period. Hot spring water
contains sulphur, which causes dead skin cells to melt away and can lead
to dryness, redness and itching after a time. However, if used
sparingly, the hot water can help make the skin smooth and soft.

Those
who suffer from redness or swelling of the face should avoid hot
springs entirely as bathing causes the capillaries to expand and can
make the symptoms get worse.

Coffee consumption reached the level of 338 cups of coffee per
person in Korea last year, according to data released by the Korea Food
and Drug Administration.

As this brewed beverage increasingly
becomes part of people's daily routine, firing them up for the day ahead
and keeping them fueled to get through the day in one of Asia's
hardest-working cultures, here are some simple tips to make a tastier
brew.

One of the most important things to remember is the
so-called 3-3-3 rule. After roasting coffee beans, leave them for three
days, then brew the coffee within three minutes of grinding the beans.
The drink should be consumed within three minutes of reaching the boil.

Additionally,
use fresh and cold water rather than that which has already been
boiled. It is also good to put coffee in a warm cup. Coffee should
ideally be served at a temperature of between 82 and 85 degrees Celsius.
Once brewed, it should not be reheated; otherwise, it will lose its
native taste and have a burned flavor.

An exhibition of photos featuring renowned fashion designer Lie
Sang-bong will be held at Keumsan Gallery in Seoul from Jan. 23 to Feb.
16.

Lee Yeob, who has been photographing Lie's works for the last decade, has now turned the lens on the designer himself.

Lee
said he wanted to create a sense of intimacy and make viewers feel as
though they are almost engaged in a personal dialogue with the designer
when they visit the gallery. Furthering this theme, he has also included
some nude portraits of Lie.

The gallery is closed on Sundays and
there is no charge for admission. More information can be obtained by
calling 02-3789-6317.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Food considered "warm" in Oriental medicine can be a blessing
during the cold winter temperatures. "Eating warm-natured foods improves
blood circulation and metabolism," said Lee Mi-young, a professor of
the department of food and nutrition at Jangan University. "It also
helps prevent diseases as immunity increases."

◆ Spicy Food

Most
spicy food is warm in nature, said Lee Jin-moo at Kyunghee University
Hospital. Notable warm foodstuffs are spring onion, ginger and garlic.

They
boost circulation as they dilate blood vessels and increase the blood
volume. Good circulation keeps bodies warm. "Foods like cucumbers or
watermelons, which are watery and feel cool when being eaten, constrict
blood vessels," said Lee. "When people whose bodies are cold eat these
kinds of foods in winter, their bodies tend to become colder because the
blood vessels constrict."

Besides spicy vegetables, radish, burdock and pumpkin also help warm the body.

◆ Warming Food Recipes

Radish Soup: Radish stimulates digestion, thus improving the
flow of energy and blood circulation. It is better eaten cooked, with
spring onion, chives and garlic and seasoned with salt or soy source.

Burdock
cooked in soy sauce: Boiled burdock can warm the body and is a good
side dish in winter. Boil it in with soy sauce, starch syrup and cooking
wine, and add spring onion, minced garlic and green peppers.

Pumpkin porridge: Pumpkin is not a warm-natured vegetable, but when cooked with glutinous rice can boost metabolism.

Winter is the high season for mussels, which in Korean means
chiefly red clams. Mussels can be poisonous after May, when they spawn,
hence the adage that they should only be eaten in months ending in "r."

In
a Chosun-era encyclopedia, mussels are described as unique because they
are the only seafood that is not salty, which indicates the special
esteem in which they were held.

Thanks to their mineral content
they are said to help prevent anemia and improve skin health.

A clear
soup of mussels is rich in taurine and effective for recovering stamina
-- a delicate way of saying it is traditionally eaten as an aphrodisiac.

Unlike some foods whose flavor and nutrients are destroyed by
drying, dried mussels are good to eat and often used in Oriental
medicine.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Actor Uhm Tae-woong of The Man of Equator Serial and ballerina Yoon Hye-jin's wedding
pictures were released. The happy couple tied the knot at the Conrad
Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, on Wednesday afternoon in front of 1,000
guests.

Ingredients You
will need a pullet, weighing approximately 300 grams, 30 grams of brown
rice, 20 grams of garlic, 10 grams of fresh, undried ginseng, 10 grams
of scallions, and a teabag of green tea, approximately 4 grams. You will
also need 2 grams of Dong quai, or Korean angelica root, 2 grams of
sansuyu, or corni, 8 grams of jujube, 1 gram of salt and some water.

Step by step 1. Get rid of the fat around the neck and the tail of the chicken, and remove the guts.

2. Wash brown rice and soak it in water for around 30 minutes. Chop scallions in 0.2 centimeter length.

3. Put brown rice, garlic and fresh ginseng into the torso of the chicken, and cross the legs.

5.
When soup boils, skim the oil and scum and continue boiling for about
an hour. Serve it in a bowl with chopped scallions on the chicken. Salt
will be served in a separate small dish.

Tip You
can use chapssal, or glutinous rice, instead of brown rice. The dish
has somewhat high calories — 746 kilocalories. You can cut 170 kcal of
it by taking only half of the dish and supplementing it with two thirds
of a bowl of multigrain rice.

This is an excerpt from “Best
Recipes to Fight High Blood Pressure” by professor Chung Nam-sik at the
Severance Hospital of Yonsei University Health System, the Nutrition
Team at the hospital, and CJ Freshway, published by Vita Books.

Half a dozen stars such as actor Jang Dong-gun are suing a
cosmetic clinic for W120 million in damages for using their pictures
without permission (US$1=W1,064).

According to the Seoul Central
District Court on Monday, they include actress Song Hye-kyo, actor Kim
Nam-gil, singer BoA, and Jessica and Tiffany of Girls' Generation.

The
clinic in the affluent Gangnam area in Seoul posted advertisements on
its website featuring their photos and names without their permission,
they said.

/Courtesy of SM Entertainment

Last month, Wonder Girls, Jessica of Girls' Generation and
actress Su-ae filed a similar suit against a dental clinic in
Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, seeking W220 million in damages. On Dec. 1, in a
suit filed by Shin Eun-kyung, the Seoul central District Court ruled an
Oriental medicine clinic has to pay the actress W35 million.

The
11 categories of the ranking were geography, demography, social and
cultural characteristics, public policy, gender equality, political
freedom, health, job security, violent crime rates, the state of the
world economy, and future income projected for 2030.

Switzerland came first, followed by Australia, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

The
Washington Post blog reported on Monday that per-capita GDP alone
"explains some two thirds of the inter-country variation in life
satisfaction, and the estimated relationship is linear."

But
some of the wealthier countries such as the U.S., Germany, Japan, and
the U.K. failed to make the top 10. China, the world's second largest
economy, is way below economically struggling European countries like
Italy, Spain and Greece, which ranked 21st, 28th, and 34th places.

Nigeria was the worst country to be born in out of the 80 included in the ranking.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Seungbu Station, a tiny train stop in a small village called
Bonghwa in North Gyeongsang Province, is renowned for having the most
breathtaking winter scenery in the region.

If you're planning on
driving there, you'd better leave your car behind and hop on a train at
Cheongnyangni Station in eastern Seoul as Seungbu Station sits in a part
of Korea that is tough to reach by road. Trains have been ferrying
tourists there since 1999 during the winter and offer better views than
if traveling by car.

"People come here to enjoy nature at its purest due to all the
beautiful, untouched scenery, and they get a pleasant surprise as soon
as they step off the train," Kim Jin-hee, who manages the train station,
said in a heavy Gyeongsang accent.

Instead of fancy restaurants and attractions, visitors
immediately find themselves surrounded by nature. The area is so quiet
that the only sound to be heard at this time of year is that of the snow
being crushed under your feet. Before long, the frozen Nakdong River
comes into view in front of the station, as well as the mountain on the
far side of it blanketed in white snow.

As such majestic scenery slowly reveals itself, it becomes
apparent that Kim was not exaggerating and there's something special
about Seungbu Station.

A monument from which travelers can enjoy
the views of the surrounding scenery is located about 50m from the
station. The hill on which it sits also affords a picturesque view of
the snow-covered station, especially when trains pass through a tunnel
there.

KORAIL runs special trains to Seungbu Station through December and January. For more details, log on to its website (www.korail.com).

Korean films drew more than 100 million viewers over the past
year, but there are a number of concerns if they are to sustain their
momentum. Here are five of the top issues for this year that have
insiders speculating about the future of the movie industry.

◆ Can Korean Movies Break the 100 Million Mark Again?

In 2012, domestic movies set a new record by attracting 115
million moviegoers. With many much-anticipated films out this year, the
question is whether the industry can repeat that milestone.

Potential
blockbusters include "The New World" directed by Park Hoon-jung, which
revolves around a cop who goes undercover into gangland and Kang
Woo-suk's "Fist of Legend," based on a webtoon.

Other releases
include a Korean version of "True Lies" by Yi Seung-jun, and Won
Shin-yeon's new film about a delivery man who draws upon his experience
in the North Korean special forces when he is falsely accused of the
murder of a company CEO.

◆ Can Korean Directors Capture Global Audiences?

Korea's
most noted directors are debuting in Hollywood. Kim Ji-Woon's Hollywood
debut "The Last Stand" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger will be released
in North America this month. In February, "Stoker," directed by Park
Chan-wook and starring Nicole Kidman, comes to cinemas around the world,
and in the second half of this year, the W40 billion (US$1=W1,062)
production "Snow Piercer" by Bong Joon-ho will hit screens in North
America.

◆ Kim Hye-soo or Jeon Ji-hyun?

The stars of "The
Thieves," the biggest local box office hit of 2012, will compete against
each other with their new films. Jeon Ji-hyun appears in "The Berlin
File" by Ryu Seung-wan, set to be released in January. It also stars Han
Suk-kyu, Ha Jung-woo and Ryu Seung-beom. Kim Hye-soo co-stars with Song
Kang-ho in Han Jae-rim's period movie "Fortune," which will be released
later this year.

Kim Yoon-seok will return to screens with "Run
to the South" by Lim Soon-rye and "Hwayi" by Jang Joon-hwan, while Kim
Soo-hyun landed his first starring film role in Jang Cheol-soo's
"Covertness."

◆ Are Co-Productions the Way Forward?

A
Korean-Chinese co-production, will hit theaters in China in the second
half of this year. The movie tells the story of a girl from a circus
troupe and a gorilla joining a Korean professional baseball team and
growing into superstars.

The Chinese distributor covered more
than 25 percent of the production costs of W22.5 billion, and the movie
is expected to secure at least over 5,000 screens in China.

◆ Will Hong Sang-soo Finally Land Int'l Festival Prize?

Hong
Sang-soo's feature film "Nobody's Daughter Haewon" will compete in the
official competition at the Berlin Film Festival in February. Hong has
entered international film festivals 242 times since he debuted with
"The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well" in 1996. This is his fifth time in
competition in the world's three major film festivals -- Cannes, Berlin
and Venice -- but so far he has not managed to win an award.

Cheong
Wa Dae has been at the center of Korea’s modern history, from Japan’s
colonial rule, through a succession of dictatorships and to the grueling
struggles for industrialization and democratization.

The site
for today’s presidential complex in central Seoul was once occupied by
Japan’s colonial governor and then by the U.S. military administrator
before South Korea’s first president, Syngman Rhee, took it for his
official residence in 1948.

Its history dates back to the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) during which King Sukjong set up his secondary palace on the site.

During
the ensuing Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), the royal villa turned into a
backyard of Gyeongbok Palace, which was established in 1395 as the
residence for King Taejo, the founder of Joseon.

As King Gojong
renovated the site in 1868, he built a series of state facilities,
including those for administering national exams and practicing martial
arts.

During the dark period of Japan’s colonial occupation from
1910-45, the Japanese Government General of Korea occupied the palace.
The colonial governor used the current Cheong Wa Dae site for his
official residence.

Following the country’s liberation in August
1945, U.S. military governor Lieut. Gen. John Reed Hodge lived in the
site for a little more than two years as he led the U.S. forces to
disarm Japanese troops and help establish the government system south of
the 38th Parallel, a line drawn by the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

After
the Republic of Korea was founded in 1948, President Rhee set up his
office and residence in the site. He named it “Gyeongmudae.” The name is
a compound word with “Gyeong” from Gyeongbokgung Palace and “Mu” from
Sinmumun Gate, the northern gate of the palace.

As President Yun
Bo-seon was sworn in following a 1960 popular democratic uprising
against Rhee’s prolonged rule, he changed the name of the presidential
residence to Cheong Wa Dae ― the house of blue roof tiles that symbolize
peace ― as Gyeongmudae bore the negative public image of a
long-reigning dictatorial ruler.

The basic structure of the
presidential complex took shape during former President Park Chung-hee’s
18-year rule. He built a series of presidential facilities including
ceremonial venues, dining facilities, rooms for receptions, official
conferences and press meetings and buildings for security staff.

During
his presidency, calls persisted for changing the name of the
presidential office to “Hwangwadae” or the house of yellow roof tiles.
Some argued that emperors in history wore yellow costumes and their
palace was topped with yellow roof tiles.

But Park rejected such calls as he was opposed to changing the name of the crucial presidential site so often.

As
the country’s global recognition increased with its economic growth and
successful hosting of the Summer Olympics in 1988, President Roh
Tae-woo paid more attention to sprucing up his residence and office.

The
renovation work also came as the Seoul government realized the lack of
facilities to accommodate foreign leaders and their delegates when an
increasing number of them came to Korea for state visits.

The
presidential press center of Chunchugwan was built at the entrance of
the complex in May 1989. The main building housing the presidential
office was built in 1991. It stands in the line that links Mount
Bukaksan, Gyeongbok Palace and the Gwanghwamun Gate, adding to its
majesty.

Following a North Korean assassination attempt on former
President Park in 1968, access to Cheong Wa Dae was blocked for
decades. But as access to part of the presidential district has been
granted since the early 1990s, the complex has been one of the capital’s
most popular sites bustling with tourists.

During the presidency
of Roh Moo-hyun, most of the areas surrounding Cheong Wa Dae including
some major hiking courses along Mount Bukaksan were opened to the
public. Observers say the opening reflects the progress of Korea’s
democracy.

Exhibition at Gallery Hyundai also features genre paintings that offer glimpses of daily lives in Joseon

“Unudocheop” (The Album of Cloud and Rain Painting, early 19th century) by Kim Hong-do (Attributed). (Gallery Hyundai)

Erotic
paintings by two great masters of Korean painting will go on display at
an exhibition that sheds light on the daily lives of people in the
Joseon era.

The exhibition at Gallery Hyundai features two
complete collections of erotic paintings made by prominent painters in
Korean history Shin Yun-bok and Kim Hong-do, as well as genre paintings
that are being shown to the public for the first time.

The
original Joseon erotic paintings, called “chunhwa” (literally means
spring paintings), weren’t revealed to the public until recently as
owners are usually unknown and hesitate to disclose them to the public.

But
after years of planning and using all her “connections,” Park
Myeong-ja, the president of the gallery, finally pulled off the
project.

“Geongonilhoecheop” (The Album of the Joining of Heaven and Earth, 1844) by Shin Yun-bok (Attributed). (Gallery Hyundai)

The
highlight of the exhibition is Kim’s “Unudocheop” (The Album of
Cloud-and-Rain Paintings) and Shin’s “Geongonilhoecheop“ (The Album of
the Joining of Heaven and Earth).

“They have high artistic value
because they managed to keep artistic factors while explicitly
depicting erotic scenes,” said Yoo Hong-joon, former head of the
Cultural Heritage Administration and author of the best-selling book
series “My Field Trip Diary to Cultural Heritage Sites,” at the guided
exhibition tour on Friday.

The paintings show erotic scenes of
people in Joseon. Kim’s paintings depict sexual scenes of commoners with
a touch of humor. Shin mainly portrayed intercourse between a man of
noble birth and female courtesan, or gisaeng.

Yoo explained how erotic paintings are reflections of each country’s sentiment and society.

“Many
Mongolian paintings have sexual scenes taking place on horses. There
are many yoga poses in Indian paintings. Chinese paintings have
exaggerated actions like the actions in Chinese martial arts movies. In
Japanese paintings, you don’t recognize who is the man and woman because
they are in full costume with their genitals accentuated,” he said.

“Korean
erotic paintings are full of lyrical depiction. You can see it in
paintings in which a man and a woman are making love beside azalea
flowers in full bloom and lush willow trees. What’s notable in Korean
erotic paintings is that background landscapes take up significant
portion of the paintings, he explained.

Paintings of sexual
scenes were secretly “made-to-order” in the conservative society with
deep-rooted Confucian values. It is also said that Shin was expelled as a
royal painter for making sexual paintings.

“The Korean erotic
paintings of the 19th century have sarcasm and humor toward the
hierarchical and conservative society. The charm of Korea’s erotic
paintings is that it can be romantic and humorous at the same time,”
wrote Lee Tae-ho, a Myongji University professor, in the exhibition
review.

Erotic paintings of Korea emerged later than those in
neighboring Japan and China, where such paintings appeared in the 16th
and 17th centuries “because of the deep-rooted Confucian values in the
society and the late commercial development,” according to Lee.

The exhibition also reveals 50 genre paintings of the commoner painter Kim Jun-geun for the first time.

Kim’s
paintings are widely exhibited at major museums in the world including
the Berlin Gallery in Germany and the Smithsonian Museum in the U.S. as
they were purchased by foreign visitors to Korea who bought them to add
to their collections.

His paintings will be shown at Dugahun Gallery, located behind Gallery Hyundai.

Kim’s
paintings, considered to have high artistic value as well, offer
glimpses into Korean people’s lives and culture featuring scenes of
wedding, funerals and other ceremonies and rituals.

The
exhibition “Refined and Tasteful Life of Joseon Dynasty” will run from
Jan. 15-Feb. 24 at Gallery Hyundai in Jongno, Seoul. Admission is 5,000
won for adults and 3,000 won for children and teenagers. The second
floor exhibition featuring the erotic paintings are open to those 19 and
up. For more information, call (02) 2287-3591.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Mountaineers climb a long and winding trail on Mount Cheongtae in
Hoengseong County, Gangwon Province. The tracks left by their lantern
lights seem to show the past eventful year. 2013 is the Year of the
Snake under the Chinese zodiac. The zigzagging of a snake might look
like slow detouring but could be the wisest way of advancing. The
incoming government to be launched in the New Year is hoped to care for
all classes of society, even if it means taking a winding detour.

2013 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Lunar Year of the Snake: Lilith

Lilith and Eve
represent the two types of women who are in psychology and literature
between Heaven and Hell. Holography is a technique that allows the light
scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that
when an imaging system (a camera or an eye) is placed in the
reconstructed beam, an image of the object will be seen even when the
object is no longer present. The image changes as the position and
orientation of the viewing system changes in exactly the same way as if
the object were still present, thus making the image appear
three-dimensional.

To celebrate the Year of the Snake
according to the Chinese zodiac, a variety of events and discount offers
are available at theme parks, leisure facilities and department stores at Korea.

Everland, the nation’s largest theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, is holding an exhibition of rare snakes through March 3.

Visitors
can see an albino Burmese python, a yellow colored snake which is
2.5-meters long and weighs 20 kilograms. They can touch the snake and
have it hung around their shoulders. A ball python is another species in
the exhibition, which has dark brown markings and is often raised as a
pet.

“For people to learn more about snakes,
zookeepers will give explanations about the characteristics of the
species,” an Everland official said.

Seoul Zoo in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, alsohas a snake exhibition until the end of February.

The
zoo collected cast-off skins and is displaying them — an adult snake
casts off its skin eight times a year, while an immature snake sheds it
15 times. In a specially designed glass enclosure, visitors can also
watch snakes crawling above their heads.

The I’Park
Department Store in central Seoul presents a chance to make snake-shaped
toys, cushions and floor cushions through Jan. 27 for free.

Various discount options are also offered to people born in the year of the snake, for example 1953, 1965, 1977 and 1989.

In
Everland, people born in those years can get a 60-percent discount for
admission to the theme park and Caribbean Bay water park until the end
of this month. Their companions can also have 30 percent off for
Everland and 20 percent for Caribbean Bay for up to three people.

Another
theme park in Gyeonggi Province, Seoul Land, offers tickets to such
people at half price through March 3, with the discount available for
one companion, too. To get the benefit, they are required to print a
discount coupon from the park’s website and submit it to the ticket
booth with an identification card that can prove they were born in a
year of the snake.

Ski resorts are not an exception.
Jisan Forest Resort in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, offers 40 percent off
for ski lift and rental fees to people born not only in the year of the
snake but also in the year of the dragon until Feb. 10, which is New
Year’s Day according to the lunar calendar. The year 2012 was the Year
of the Dragon.

“We’ve held such an event since 2011,
and gained good feedback from skiers. We plan to continue the event
every year,” a staffer of the resort said.

Pine
Resort in Yongin, provides a 50-percent discount for ski lift and rental
fees to those born in the year of the snake until the season ends.

Coffee consumption reached the level of 338 cups of coffee per
person in Korea last year, according to data released by the Korea Food
and Drug Administration.

As this brewed beverage increasingly
becomes part of people's daily routine, firing them up for the day ahead
and keeping them fueled to get through the day in one of Asia's
hardest-working cultures, here are some simple tips to make a tastier
brew.

One of the most important things to remember is the
so-called 3-3-3 rule. After roasting coffee beans, leave them for three
days, then brew the coffee within three minutes of grinding the beans.
The drink should be consumed within three minutes of reaching the boil.

Additionally,
use fresh and cold water rather than that which has already been
boiled. It is also good to put coffee in a warm cup. Coffee should
ideally be served at a temperature of between 82 and 85 degrees Celsius.
Once brewed, it should not be reheated; otherwise, it will lose its
native taste and have a burned flavor.